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Our 2024 Awards
Bent Spoon Although not the winner of the Bent Spoon, of note this year there were some bad decisions made by our current coalition government. Their repeal of the Therapeutic Products Act, for example, has been a disappointing change. The new legislation was far from perfect, but at least it was a start when it…
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Therapeutic Products Bill
The New Zealand Skeptics Society is a non-profit body that exists to promote critical thinking. We are frequently contacted by the media to provide informed comments on science and pseudoscience, and support evidence-based policymaking. We offer public education on rational thinking, helping people to understand the gap between proven ideas and nonsense. We think that…
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NZ Skeptics put their Money where their Mouth is
From April 1st 2023 the NZ Skeptics, along with the NZ Association of Rationalists and Humanists, are offering a one hundred thousand dollar (NZ $100,000) prize as part of the NZ Skeptics Challenge – and this is definitely not an April Fool’s joke! Until recently the well known skeptic Stuart Landsborough, of Wanaka’s Puzzling World,…
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UFOs – the camera doesn’t lie…
…It Just Tells Dirty Great Big Fat Whoppers! by Anthony Wharton – St-Helens, UK MEIER UNDER THE MICROSCOPE /EXTRAORDINARY CLAIMS OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL CONTACT. I continue to be fascinated with the Swiss farmer who has, in my opinion, been engaged in the longest running UFO hoax on record. My fascination comes from the obviously terrible quality…
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Cult Dining: The Lotus Heart and the legacy of Sri Chinmoy
Bronwyn Rideout investigates the connection between the Lotus Heart restaurant in Christchurch and Sri Chinmoy. The Lotus Heart Restaurant has been on my radar for almost as long as I have been living in New Zealand. I was introduced to it by a vegan friend in 2007, when it was still located in Cathedral Square.…
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New study shows psychic predictions are useless
Skeptics study proves psychics fail … again and again and again. The results of the Great Australian Psychic Prediction Project, a 12-year study by Australian Skeptics, have revealed that so-called psychics’ predictions are correct only 11% of the time. And when something momentous or calamitous happens, they are unlikely to have foreseen it. In fact,…
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2021 Conference Speaker Links
Here is a list of all the speakers from our 2021 conference, with some handy links if you want to know more about them. Dr Mahmood Hikmet Youtube Twitter Dr Ken Harvey Twitter Wikipedia Professor Richard Wiseman Quirkology Twitter Wikipedia Annie McCubbin Why Smart Women Make Bad Decisions Dr Siouxsie Wiles Siouxsie and Eve Twitter…
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NZ Skeptics Announce their 2021 awards, and Dr Simon Thornley wins the Bent Spoon
Every year the New Zealand Skeptics presents its awards to people and organisations who have impressed us or dismayed us, and this year it’s been hard to pick our winners because there have been so many choices! The Bent Spoon Award is given to the organisation or individual which has shown the most egregious gullibility…
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Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill Oral Submission
The submission below was given via a Zoom call to Members of the Justice Committee on Wednesday the 15th of September 2021, as a follow-up to the Society’s written submission. The submission was presented by committee members Bronwyn Rideout and Mark Honeychurch, and MPs asked questions after the submission was read out. The Evidence We…
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Submission on the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill
The NZ Skeptics’ Submission on the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill About us The NZ Skeptics are a New Zealand/Aotearoa charity dedicated to education and the promotion of evidence-based practices, both in government policy and elsewhere in New Zealand public life. Healthcare decisions are an important part of this ideal, and we strongly support any…
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Submission on Hate Speech Proposals
NZ Skeptics submission on the Ministry of Justice Proposals against incitement of hatred and discrimination The NZ Skeptics We are a New Zealand/Aoteaoroa charity dedicated to education and the promotion of evidence based practices, both in government policy and elsewhere in New Zealand public life. We believe that all government policy decisions should be informed…
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The case of the haunted house in Pukekohe
With the season of Hallowe’en approaching, what better time for a tale of haunting? The NZ Skeptics recently commented on the story of a purportedly haunted house in Pukekohe, currently occupied by Filipino workers. The story appeared in the NZ Herald this week. Let’s have a look at what we know about the claimed evidence…